


a tale of fire and rain

by Zoa



Series: The Reylo Tales: My Collection of Reylo One-Shots [20]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Angst, Barmaid Rey, F/M, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Love, Love Confessions, Marriage, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Weddings, a tiny bit of angst, bladesmith ben, idek what period it's just historical, some drunk men with grabby hands but nothing terrible
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:55:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29479548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zoa/pseuds/Zoa
Summary: Ben Solo loves the local barmaid. Rey loves the local bladesmith.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: The Reylo Tales: My Collection of Reylo One-Shots [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1691227
Comments: 20
Kudos: 132





	a tale of fire and rain

**Author's Note:**

> somebody take historical au's away from me i canNOT stop
> 
> also, ben being a bladesmith is 100% because i've been watching a lot of 'forged in fire'

Ben’s strokes moved in a smooth rhythm, striking the red hot steel time and time again, steadily lengthening under his hammer’s heavy blows. When the steel cooled to a dull orange, Ben paused and drove the burgeoning blade into the fire of his forge. He took the moment to wipe the sweat from brow, knowing he left a smudge of black on his forehead. A flash of green from outside caught his eye and he looked up from his work.

_She_ was passing by his shop, silhouetted against the late afternoon sun on her way to the pub where she worked, wearing her favorite green dress. Or at least what Ben imagined was her favorite, as she wore it sparingly. Often she wore a simple brown dress, but sometimes - on Sundays mostly - she donned the green and Ben had to admit it was his favorite, too. Because Rey always seemed happiest in the green dress.

Rey. She only went by her first name but it was a pretty one. Reminded him of sunshine. Just like her smile. Which fell on him just as she was about to turn toward the pub. Ben looked quickly away, back to the blade he was forging for the mayor. His heart pounded against his ribs, hoping she hadn’t caught him gawking. When he dared look again, she was gone, and a familiar mixture of disappointment and relief filled him.

He’d come to Niima a complete stranger, seeking nothing but solitude and a quiet place to work his craft, and she had been the first to greet him as a friend. As much as her name invoked the sun, so did she light the world with her kindness and patience. But he was from the dark. Though she already held his heart, Ben knew he could never have hers.

* * *

He looked away when she turned with a smile, as he always did. Though his shop was open, he was in the shadow of his forge and she could not see his face. Rey wished she might. The smith kept to himself most of the time, trying to be as unnoticeable as a man of his height and broad frame and strange but lovely face could be. What was odd was that it worked. People either ignored or avoided him except for when his services were needed. But Rey noticed him.

The ring of his hammer meeting steel resumed when she moved on, headed to the pub for her nightly shift. Unkar was sure to be eager to cheat more hard-earned coin from his customers and Rey was ready to sneakily slip that coin back into the pockets of the cheated.

And, if the pattern of the past year held, Ben would appear once the sun was below the horizon. He would sit alone in a corner and sip at a single pint. When it was drained, he brought the glass back to the bar himself, and left his payment in Rey’s hand. He always made sure to give it to her directly and Rey guessed he knew that if he didn’t, Unkar would take more than his fair share.

Right on time, about an hour into the evening’s service, the quiet, tall blacksmith strode into the pub and made his way the bar. There was not a spot of soot on him, except maybe a few stubborn bits beneath his fingernails, but he wore a clean shirt and trousers. Every day. Perhaps he was that meticulous. But Rey couldn’t help imagining - hoping - that maybe he did it for her. He ordered his usual pint, which Rey handed him herself - he didn’t look at her directly but thanked her - and he retreated to his usual corner. That corner had a view of the entire bar, the wall of the pub at his back. Rey had figured out after the first week that he didn’t like being exposed.

She knew the feeling well.

* * *

Ben watched with growing discomfort as the other men in the pub grew rowdier with each draught passed around. The more beer that flowed, the more emboldened they were to tease the barmaid. Unkar didn’t care how drunk the men in his bar were because that meant more gold in his pocket. He didn’t care it put his one and only employee at risk. There was usually only one or two troublemakers, but tonight a good crop from the farmland around the village had made the men loose with their coin, and their inhibitions even looser. Ben’s fingers tightened around his own glass each time the other men tried to pull her into their laps.

Rey staved off the rowdier ones well; she always did. But there was one - Hux, a local lord’s bastard - who was more… _insistent_ than the others. Enough that Ben lingered longer than usual, right up to the bar’s closing. Hux was still there, too, making a nuisance of himself. Rey was ushering him toward the door, but the man was belligerent.

Ben didn’t move until Hux took hold of Rey’s arm.

“I think that’s enough, Hux,” he muttered, clapping a hand on the other man’s shoulder. Tight. Rey started; apparently she hadn’t seen Ben was still there. “Time to go home.”

“Whut…?” But Hux did not have time to wonder who had taken hold of him. Ben shoved him outside before he had the chance.

“Goodnight, Miss Rey,” he said as he made to leave as well. He’d have to make sure Hux actually got home now.

“Good… goodnight,” she responded, somewhat breathlessly, and Ben’s heart sank. He’d frightened her. But when he chanced a look, she didn’t appear frightened at all.

In fact, she was smiling.

* * *

The clang of his hammer rang out through the village as Rey made her way to Ben’s shop. She carefully adjusted the basket she carried, filled with baked goods for him. There were those who would think she was making an inappropriate overture, but Rey’s intentions were innocent. The basket was a ‘thank you’ for the night before. Nothing more.

Well, perhaps not _nothing_.

She paused at the entry to his forge, becoming transfixed while she watched him work. His back was turned to her, arm moving with deliberate, controlled swings. Despite the early hour, the cream tunic he wore, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, was already marked with sweat. A healthy sheen covered his arms, highlighting muscle and tone that was the result of his labor. Bright sparks flittered harmlessly to the dirt at his feet as the hammer struck the hot metal.

After a few moments, just when Rey feared she had lingered too long, he stopped and examined the weapon. The smith turned, assumedly to see the blade in the sun, only to freeze when he spotted his visitor. There were a few dark smudges that charmingly decorated his face.

“Miss Rey,” he uttered in surprise. “What..?”

And Rey, having been distracted by the way his shirt clung to what she could see of his form beneath the apron, suddenly remembered why she was there. “I brought you this,” she held up the basket. He looked at it blankly for a few seconds before Rey realized she needed to explain. “It’s bread and cake,” she said quickly, cheeks hot. “I wanted to thank you for last night.”

Slowly, he put the new sword down on the anvil where he’d been working, and approached her. His eyes flicked between her and the basket she held, a somewhat embarrassed expression on his face. “I only did what needed to be done.”

“You did more than any other man in this town would do,” Rey insisted firmly and offered him the basket. “Please, take it. It’s really not much.”

Though hesitant, he did take the basket. “Thank you.”

Rey knew she should probably leave now. She had delivered her gift, the job was done. But her feet would not move. Neither did his.

“Your work is beautiful,” she remarked. “They were talking of the mayor’s new dagger last night with envy.”

A hint of pink on his ears showed through his sweat-soaked dark hair. “I do my best.”

“Where did you learn your craft?” She asked, stepping into the shop, curious to see more, to learn more about the mysterious smith. Behind her, she heard him turn and follow and put the basket down somewhere.

“Coruscant.”

“The capital?” Rey turned in surprise. “So far away… how did you happen to come here?” A shadow passed over his pale face and Rey knew whatever the story was, it was not pleasant. “I’m sorry,” she murmured, another healthy flush on her cheeks. “I shouldn’t pry. I’m always doing that. I ask too many questions… Unkar’s always saying that…”

“It’s a fair question,” he said quickly, as if he wanted to reassure her. “But the answer is long and… and complicated.”

“I see,” she said, though she didn’t really. Instead of being satisfied, her curiosity was only more piqued. And there was something in his expression, a sadness she couldn’t bear to see. He was carrying a heavy burden and, for a reason beyond her understanding, she wished she could relieve some of its weight. “Perhaps some other time?”

Ben stared at her for a few moments, appraising her, Rey thought.

“Perhaps,” he said slowly, carefully. “Perhaps.”

* * *

He returned the basket to her a few days later and thanked her again for the kindness, however unnecessary it was. There was still in the back of his mind the strange urge to answer her question and tell her of his past. But he didn’t. He departed; she did not know of what she asked. His tale was too heavy for a creature such as she. If he told her, he would only be dragging her beneath the waves with him.

No, better to keep his distance.

****

Despite his determination, it seemed Rey was twice as determined to close the divide he deemed so necessary. What’s more, Ben did not try to dissuade her, even though he knew it was wrong. Every day she dropped by his shop and asked after him and he would answer. Sometimes she questioned him about his work, about the details and how he put his own mark on the weapons he forged. Ben found it easier to talk about that. She never pushed him on his past and for that he was grateful.

But she never talked about hers, either. Ben, having his own secrets, knew very well why someone wouldn’t and the thought of her having been through an ounce of pain gnawed at his soul. Perhaps another reason why he couldn’t push her away, even for her own good. But he had another, more selfish reason.

He yearned for her light.

* * *

Their routine became the favorite part of her day. And it seemed he felt the same, if she was interpreting how he brightened when she arrived correctly.

It became so Rey couldn’t imagine how it was before.

Slowly, her curiosity over his long tale dissipated to reform as fondness. Yes, she was quite fond of him, the shy blade smith with a mysterious past. She did not care so much about his past anymore. He was good and kind; he worked hard and well. He did not treat her as the other men did, a rarity she valued more than any jewel. It did not matter from where he had come, only that he was in Niima now. With her.

Rey did not think she would ever have such feelings for a man, but she could not help the warmth that blossomed in her chest whenever she caught sight of him at his forge, or when he entered the pub and sat at his usual place and sent her a small smile.

Alas, she did not know if she were brave enough to tell him.

* * *

At a certain point, Ben began to walk Rey home after she was finished at the pub. Hux was still being a bother and Ben could not leave Rey to stave him off on her own, however capable she was. One forlorn glance from her and he was at her side, guiding her away from Hux. Her relief was obvious and Ben didn’t mind in the slightest. So an evening walk to her cottage was added to their daily lives.

One night, she stopped him before he could bid goodbye. Illuminated by the moon, Rey stood in the doorway of her cottage and all Ben could do was stare, entranced.

“Ben.”

Her voice was gentle, speaking his name like a solemn vow. His eyes found hers, glittering, beautiful. And within them he saw that which terrified him. She reached for his hand but he quickly drew it away and took a step back. Ben instantly regretted his actions as embarrassment and hurt tainted her lovely face, but he could not find the courage to rectify them. Doubt and self-loathing had worn too deep a trench in his heart.

“Goodnight,” he said abruptly and just as suddenly spun on his heel and left, ignoring the insistent voice that shouted he was in the wrong, to turn back.

No, this was right, he insisted to himself as he strode away. He had let things go too far, indulged in her light too much. Better to stop now before he stole it all.

* * *

That night she had hoped was simply a case of nerves, but in vain. It was evident he did not share her feelings. He ignored her when she passed by his shop, save for a curt greeting if she said anything, but quickly resumed his work. He didn’t come to the pub anymore, though Rey looked for him every night when she left, wishing for his presence when Hux once again made a nuisance of himself. But he did not come. The painful reality dawned on her that she had imagined any closeness between them and with that realization the happiness she had enjoyed these past few weeks disappeared. Happiness borne from the dream she would no longer be alone.

She was still alone.

* * *

Ben was tormented. He could not sleep without thinking of her. He could not rest because he missed her. Her smile, her laugh, her kindness. His work suffered; more mistakes were made now than he ever had as an apprentice. Twice he had hammered through a weapon, angry and taking it out upon the iron until it split beneath his blows.

Angry at himself. Days passed, hours of longing and sleepless nights, before he truly understood why.

The last time she came to his shop, the last look she had passed him after he ignored her timid ‘how are you’, wasn’t angry. It was pained and sorrowful. Ben stared into the fire of his forge, watching the flames flicker around the metal he’d thrust inside. He’d not just made himself miserable; that was punishment he could bear. But forcing the same wretchedness on her? He might was well throw himself into the flames.

What was he to do?

****

Thunder rolled in the distance when he saw her walking from her cottage toward the pub, the sun’s setting glow dimmed by the dark clouds rolling in from the south. This was the first time he’d seen her in a week, as she’d carefully avoided his forge since their last encounter. For some reason - perhaps the impending storm - she had chosen to take the more expedient route to work. Ben watched her go, a heavy weight on his heart. She did not even glance his way, but hurried on.

****

Hours passed and the storm drew near until, after the sun was gone, the skies opened up and rain poured onto the little town. The pub emptied, patrons rushing to get home before the rain ruined whatever they’d foolishly left outside.

Ben saw Rey exit, holding her apron over her head to protect herself from the rain as she scurried toward her cottage, again taking the shorter way past his forge.

His legs moved before his thoughts caught up and he skid to a stop just as she ran by.

“Rey!”

She slowed, hesitated, yet did not stop. Ben’s heart cracked, and his courage along with it, but he couldn’t let this be the end.

“Rey! I’m sorry!”

Now she froze, only to turn and fix upon him an expression as angry as the dark sky above. Ben took the opportunity to catch up with her, slipping and almost falling in the mud the dirt road had become. He straightened and stood before her, heart pounding, as he faced the consequences of his deeds, and he prayed that it wasn’t too late.

“Forgive me, please,” he gasped. “I was afraid.” She did not speak, so he continued, “I was afraid because…” he swallowed, “because I love you.”

Her eyes widened, her mouth falling open, and the soaked apron fell out of her hands, leaving her unprotected from the wind and rain. Ben plunged ahead, seizing the opportunity before she came to her wits and left his sight for good.

“I love you more than I have ever loved anyone but I am not a good man, Rey, as you well know now.” Ben worked his mouth and desperately hoped she would hear him. “I don’t know how to be a good man and that’s what you deserve. But it’s killing me to be away from you, to know that I harmed you despite my best intentions. I do not expect you to love me in return, I only wished to tell you… I’m sorry.”

For a few moments he remained there, ignoring the rain as it plastered his hair to his head and seeped through his clothes, to watch her, yearning for just an ounce of the redemption he did not deserve. Then she stepped closer to him and everything else fell away.

Her face was wet with tears as well as rain, eyes bright and wide and sad as she peered up at him. Ben, unable to help himself, brought his hand to her cheek, and cupped it gently; his thumb stroked away a fallen tear. Rey’s eyes fluttered closed and she leaned into his touch and Ben was shaken. Never had he been trusted so, but for _her_ to grant him this gift after what he’d done… if he could not feel the cold rain pelting his back, he might not believe this moment was real. Yet when her eyes opened again, the grief replaced with a much different light, he wondered if he wasn’t indeed dreaming.

A dream from which he did not ever wish to wake. Not as she raised herself up on her toes, not as her hand came to rest on his shoulder…

Not as her sweet lips touched his in an even sweeter kiss.

Ben didn’t feel the rain nor the chill. Everything was warm, as if the sun shone bright overhead. When she drew back, Ben’s heart stuttered. Heavens, she was beautiful. Her cheeks were flushed a pretty pink, emphasizing the dusting of freckles across her nose. For a long moment all he could do was stare and soak in the sight of her, blushing for him. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth and he wondered what his face must look like. He imagined like he was seeing a miracle. It felt like he was.

“Rey,” he whispered. “Sweetheart…”

That hint of a smile was a hint no more, but wide and bright. “I like that,” she murmured. “Say it again.”

He could no more disobey than cease breathing. “Sweetheart,” he said, “my love.” And he kissed her again. He kissed her deeply, holding her to him, relishing her touch as her arms came around him.

She held his heart, now and forever.

* * *

Their wedding day was no large affair. Just the two of them, the village priest, and a pair of witnesses standing beside the river, swollen from the rains. Rey was dressed in her favorite green gown and Ben was very handsome in a crisp, black tunic. He had forged himself the silver band he slipped over her finger, and the one she placed on his. Rey did not know if she could ever stop smiling, nor did she ever wish to. The moment when the priest blessed them as married was one she held in her heart for the rest of her life. It would be a good life, too, because Ben loved her, and she loved him. A love that grew with the birth of their first child.

Rey was alone no longer.

**Author's Note:**

> catch me on [tumblr](https://zoawrites.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/StarToured)


End file.
